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The Bay Area Reporter February 14, 2008In all, over 20 California cities and counties, including seven of the 10 largest cities in California, signed onto this amicus brief. In recognition of Freedom to Marry Week, Marriage Equality USA is featuring this cities and counties' amicus brief, along with an amicus brief filed by Professor M.V. Lee Badgett and senior research fellow Gary Gates, which analyzes U.S. Census data on same-sex couples in California. In partnership with the Bay Area Reporter, MEUSA is highlighting each of the 30 amicus "friend of the court" briefs submitted by hundreds of supportive organizations, professional associations, and religious institutions filed before the California Supreme Court in favor of same-sex couples' freedom to marry. [Link]

Manitowoc Herald TimesFebruary 13, 2008When Judy Stock is offered the chance to kiss her bride in a few weeks, she's going for it. Under the Canadian sky she'll stand, hand-in-hand with Leigh Robert, ready to validate the union the two formed 15 years ago. But why Canada? The answer is simple: It's legal. Unable to wed lawfully in Wisconsin, the women plan to hold an additional ceremony in April at a Sheboygan County church. But they're not willing to let the state hold them back from a white wedding. [link]

ReutersFebruary 13, 2008The trajectory of the battle for gay rights from Milk's era to today was on the minds of the movie extras for "Milk." If the upcoming California court ruling legalizes gay and lesbian couples' marriages, many supporters will see it as an epic victory and the climax of the work that Milk began. [Link]

Think ProgressFebruary 12, 2008During his controversial speech at New England prep school Choate Rosemary Hall yesterday, former Bush adviser Karl Rove was challenged by a student “to explain how giving gay people the right to marry would endanger other people.” Rove dodged answering her at first, saying that the issue “should be resolved by a legislature or a referendum, not a court.” But the student, Choate senior Marla Spivak, continued to press him. [Link]

Denver PostFebruary 12, 2008The first legal challenge to Colorado’s anti-marriage constitutional amendment goes to court Wednesday, with the goal of unraveling Amendment 43, which voters passed in 2006. The main legal case is misdemeanor trespassing: Catherine Burns and Sheila Schroeder, a lesbian couple from Englewood, went to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office on Sept. 24 to get a marriage license. [Link]

The Frederick NewsFebruary 11, 2008At least 15 residents from Frederick County will travel to Annapolis to attend an Equality Maryland rally in support of legislation that would end the exclusion of same-sex couples and their families from marriage in the state. [Link]

New York Times February 5, 2008The Times editorial staff says a N.Y. appeals court ruling in favor of recognizing out-of-state marriages of gay and lesbian couples is "...important progress toward changing laws and attitudes that deprive gay people of equal rights and deny the dignity of New York’s many gay families. They should be able to live, marry and raise children with the same respect and the same rights as anyone else. [Link]

The Oregonian February 5, 2008After a judge ruled against a hold in Oregon on domestic partnerships which the legislature passed in 2006, 300 couples registered the first day; Williams Institute says the state can anticipate 4,500 registrations over the next three years. [link]

WCCO February 4, 2008When state lawmakers open the new session next week a new group will try to rekindle the debate over whether same-sex couples should have the same rights as men and women who are married. Project 515 focuses on 515 state laws that it says discriminate against same-sex couples and families. Some affect couples in their professional lives, others in times of tragedy. [link]